Iran has issued a sharp warning to Armenia over the proposed “Trump Bridge,” a U.S.-backed economic corridor that Washington says will promote peace and prosperity in the South Caucasus. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told Armenian leaders that the project could mask American geopolitical ambitions under the pretext of trade development, Knewz.com has learned.
Trump-brokered peace deal
Recently, President Donald Trump announced a peace deal ending decades of conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. As part of the agreement, an American consortium will oversee the development of a transit route through Armenia’s Syunik province, connecting Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan exclave. The White House has branded the route the “Trump Bridge” or “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity.” While Washington touts the project as a foundation for regional trade and economic integration, Iran views the corridor with suspicion. The route runs along Iran’s northern border, in an area where Russian peacekeepers have historically maintained a presence. Iran fears the “Trump Bridge” could reduce both Iranian and Russian influence in the region.
The strategic stakes of the corridor
The corridor is expected to strengthen Azerbaijan’s economic and political reach by directly linking it with Nakhchivan and Turkey. For Armenia, it represents a chance to stabilize relations with its neighbor after years of war, though critics fear the nation may lose leverage over transit rights. On the other hand, for Iran, the project’s proximity to its East Azerbaijan province underscores broader concerns about being sidelined in the South Caucasus at a time of shifting alliances.
Iran pushes back against the project, cites suspicions
President Pezeshkian, speaking with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan over the phone, said foreign military or security presence in the corridor must be avoided. “One must make sure that this route will be really the route of peace and development, not a tool for the realization of the hegemonic objectives of outsiders,” the Iranian president was quoted as saying. His warning followed even stronger language from a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, who threatened that the corridor could become “a graveyard for the mercenaries of Donald Trump.” It is worth noting that while Iran’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement welcoming the peace accord, the Ministry stressed “concern over the negative consequences of any form of foreign intervention, especially near its shared borders.”
Washington’s response
The White House has rejected Iran’s characterization of the corridor project. American officials say the deal preserves Armenian sovereignty and bars military deployments in the corridor. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said the agreement respects “Armenia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and its people.” Said Kelly, “The roadmap they are agreeing to will build a cooperative future that benefits both countries, their region of the South Caucasus and beyond.” The U.S. insists the corridor will remain strictly an economic project, although its presence reduces both Iranian and Russian influence in a region where Moscow has long stationed peacekeepers.
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Author: Samyarup Chowdhury
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